Power Play
by mvpfanatic
Summary: SPOILER! What happens to Gabe after Connie finds out Gabe supposedly fathered a child with Wanda, and left him with a broken heart. Note: As I haven't seen the last episodes, I don't know if Connie does leave Gabe or not! Creative license! *Ch 3 is up!*
1. Chapter 1

"It's not like I planned for this to happen, Connie! She meant nothing to me! She was going to start bringing my dad's problems into the reports she was doing and taking her out seemed like an easy fix. I never expected to sleep with her, let alone for her to get pregnant! You know I love you, Con. Please ... don't let this be it, Connie. I love you with my whole heart."

"Gabe, I can't do this," Connie shook her head. "I put way too much on the line for it to come back and bite me like this. You know I love you, Gabe, but I can't love you anymore, I just can't. My heart is already too broken to deal with this anymore."

Gabe shrugged to himself as the conversation replayed in his head for what seemed like the millionth time. Gabe had been dumped by Connie almost 4 months ago, but it still felt like yesterday. He took a swig of his beer, and he sat back in his bar stool. He was at the Blue Line with a few of his teammates and their wives. It had been an off-day, but the team had taken part in an intense workout. Coach Boucher had made it clear to Gabe that the team should stop partying so much, but rightnow Gabe figured they deserved a night out, having fun. Although, Gabe mused over his beer, fun was one of the farthest things from his mind.

"Gabe!" Megan Chandler, his teammate Owen's wife and one of his closest friends, called out. "Get your hot ass out here and dance with me! You are officially done sulking over Connie!"

"Meg, you know I'm not sulking," he insisted, although he was rather unconvincing.

"Gabe McCall, if I have to tell you again to get out here, you're going to regret it!" she retorted.

Gabe sighed, picking up his beer and following his friend to the other side of the club.

"Gabe, you've been brooding for way too long," Megan cooed into his ear, as she danced up close to him.

"Megan, she broke my heart. You don't understand. I wouldn't be so bummed if Wanda hadn't made up the whole pregnancy thing to begin with. It'd be a lot easier to stomach if I truly did something wrong."

"So what! Connie Lewis is out of your life, and so is Wanda. It's time to move on, Gabe, maybe find yourself a new lady love. Besides, Frances is one of the only sane ladies I have left to talk to, and she's still miserable over the affair. Find me someone else to run WOMCO with us!"

Gabe couldn't help but laugh at her last comment; it was like Megan to insist that he get a new girlfriend so she'd have another friend at the Women of the Mustangs' Charitable Organization meetings. Gabe's ex had never really fit in with the girls, since she was pretty plain compared to the glamorous women he was accustomed to seeing daily at the arena, but she'd had something special. Now as he danced with Megan, he couldn't help but smile as he remembered it.

Just then, he got a strange urge to glance behind him, and when he did, he'd needed to do a double-take. There was a gorgeous redhead standing in the middle of a crowd, who were held rapt by something she was saying. He felt like he'd known her from somewhere, but when Megan noticed where his look was, she not-so-subtly turned him so she could get a glimpse. "Gabe!" she laughed, shaking her head a little. "Aiming a bit high, aren't we?"

"I feel like I know her," he confided. "Clue me in."

"Gabe, that's Kate Delaney. You know, the one who sings 'Taking My Time'?" Megan replied, singing a little bit of one of the biggest hits currently from the radio. "I don't know why she'd want to be HERE," she added, as an afterthought.

"She was on one of those morning shows," he nodded. "I remember seeing her on one of them this morning, actually."

"And she's totally on her way over here," Megan gasped, kissing Gabe's cheek and rushing over to her husband.

True to what Megan predicted, a few moments later, Kate Delaney was standing next to Gabe, with a smile on her face. "Your friend seemed like she was in a rush, eh?"

Gabe smiled back, and shrugged. "I guess she realized it was time to go back to her husband."

"I'm Kate," she replied, holding out a free hand, the other one occupied with a drink.

"Gabe," he answered, taking her hand and juggling his own drink around. "I saw you on TV today; you sounded pretty good."

"You looked pretty good on the ice today, too," she laughed, as she took a swig from her drink.

"You saw the Mustangs' practice?" he asked, a surprised look crossing his face.

"Gabe, I grew up playing hockey with my dad and big brother. Hockey is a part of my life, even if it isn't the major part I once hoped it would be. But don't tell anyone, or my reputation will be shattered!" she winked at him.

He laughed, shaking his head a little. "Your reputation would probably get even better for that. I'm honored you came to watch our team."

"Your team," she corrected him. "You're the captain. They're your team. And you're improving. So, I figured I'd come over and congratulate you."

"Thank you," Gabe replied, shrugging. "It's a big deal to a lot of people, but it seems like the captaincy is just a load of extra crap now. My dad was our coach, and they replaced him with this hard-ass, who doesn't even want us to go out and enjoy our days off. It's tough, you know?"

"Can I let you in on a secret?" Kate asked, slightly stepping closer to him.

"Sure," he replied.

"My brother's friend played for Couch Boucher before, and he said that he is a hard-ass, actually he used those same words. But the thing is to not let it get to you. You just do your thing, and just try to toe the line when he's around. But when he's not..." she trailed off, a wicked look flashing across her eyes.

"What?" Gabe asked, a smile starting to cross his face.

"You have to live a little," Kate replied, setting her drink down and pressing her lips to Gabe's.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Gabe woke up the next day with a headache, courtesy of his hangover from the drinking the night before. He struggled to think of what he'd spent the night doing for a few moments as he got himself a few aspirin, and downed them with water. It started to come back to him as he stepped into the shower. He'd danced with Kate Delaney, the sexy musician he'd seen at the Blue Line with Megan and Owen Chandler, and they'd sat at the bar, laughing as they'd taken a few shots together. He'd been out late, and had stumbled to the front of the club with Kate, and they'd shared a few more kisses, in between trading numbers. He'd wanted to ask her to come home with him, but even the alcohol hadn't emboldened him quite that much. Yes, he'd been missing female company, but he wasn't quite ready. After he finished his shower and put on some clothes for his pre-game skate, he'd grabbed his cell phone and glanced down at it, wanting to dial the newest number in it, but unsure if she'd even be up. If he had his way, he certainly wouldn't be up early and headed for a practice over at the rink. He decided to play it safe, and send her a text.

"Hi Kate, it's Gabe. I had fun last night; maybe we can do it again sometime when you're in town? Let me know."

A few moments passed, and he hadn't gotten a response. Instead of letting it get to him, he put his phone into his jacket pocket, and changed into his uniform. He spent a good hour and a half with the guys on the ice, and managed to forget all about the text message. When the guys finally got off the ice, Gabe changed into his street clothes, and started to head out with the rookie, Trevor Lemonde. As he walked past where the wives and girlfriends were waiting, he felt something grab his arm. He glanced up as he got pulled away from Trevor, and felt his stomach lurch a little. There, standing in front of him, was none other than Kate Delaney.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," she smiled, as she reached out with her free hand and shook Trevor's hand, "but I was hoping I could steal Gabe from you for awhile."  
"He's all yours," Trevor replied, shooting Gabe an envious look. "I'll see you tonight before the game."  
"See you then," Gabe nodded his agreement, before turning to Kate. "What are you doing here?!" he asked, a smile still on his face. "I didn't really expect to see you so soon."  
"Didn't you get my text?" she asked, a frown crossing her face. "I texted you back, and told you that my plans kind of got cancelled, and I'll be in town for the next week and a half. I said I'd be thrilled to spend more time with you."  
Gabe saw one of the last trainers leaving the locker room area, and knowing that Coach Boucher would be next to leave, he hastily led her outside the arena, into a secluded spot. "How about lunch?" he asked, when they finally got to his destination.  
"Uh, sure," she replied, looking confused. "Should I even bother to ask what that was about?"  
"I'll tell you at lunch," he laughed.

He led her over to his car, where he opened the door for her, before heading out. "So, where are you taking me, Mr. McCall?" she asked, glancing over and smiling flirtatiously at him.  
"That's for me to know, and you to find out," he answered back, giving a cheesy, exaggerated wink.

As it turned out, he was taking her to a restaurant Megan had dragged him to when he'd hit the lowest he'd felt after Connie had left him. He'd healed from his gunshot, courtesy of the crazy stalker his old team captain's daughter, Molly McBride, had acquired when she'd become a majority owner of the Mustangs, and Megan had decided it was time to take him out to start re-socializing him. He knew they had a private back room, and he was grateful when the hostess led the pair of them back there.

Kate and Gave had a great lunch, and spent the time telling each other random stories about their childhoods and about their lives now. He was starting to feel like this girl could end up being his girlfriend. He was surprised; he'd never really had a woman in his life that had been as famous, or possibly even more, than he was, and it was nice to not feel like the spotlight was only harsh on him. She'd been through her share of media blitzes, and when he told her about Wanda's tricks to keep his dad's problems out of the press, she nodded sympathetically. "I had a paparazzo try to do that to me once," she said, shrugging a little. "He told me he'd publish a topless photo of me sunbathing in my backyard, and you know the record company would freak if that came out. So, he tried to get me to promise to sleep with him, but instead, I put out a press release on the photos, and got a restraining order taken out on him. I don't blame you for looking out for your dad, though. I'd do whatever it took to help out a family member of mine in a time of need."  
Gabe smiled, and took a sip of the coffee he was drinking. "My ex just didn't seem to think that it was really a choice, rather than something I just did because we weren't really together at that point. And she didn't seem to care that Wanda tried to win me back by pretending to be pregnant."  
"It's crazy, the things people do for something they want, but know they can't have, isn't it?" she raised an eyebrow, as she took a sip of her water. "I think it's better to go after things you want, and could feasibly have."  
"Like?" Gabe couldn't help inquiring.  
"Like … happiness and a warm body to cuddle with at night? And maybe eventually, the cuddling would lead to true love. But that's probably still down the line In my things I have to come in life."  
Gabe laughed. "You seem like you have an even more hectic schedule than me, and I'm never home."  
"It can be lonely, but once you find something to look forward to back at home or somewhere, it's pretty fun. You have something to look forward to after you bring joy to other people."  
Gabe glanced at his watch. It was getting late, and he still had a game that evening. "I really hate to cut this kind of short, but I've got a game tonight. You could come, if you wanted to," he added.  
"I'd like that," she smiled. "It'd be great."  
"I'm glad," he smiled. "Let me take you to your hotel, and I'll have a ticket waiting for you at the gate when you get there."  
"I'll hold you to that," she laughed. "It better be a good one, too!" she teasingly added.  
"Oh, it will be," he promised.


	3. Chapter 3

Gabe couldn't help but glance up towards the wives' room again. It was the fourth time in 2 periods he'd glanced up there, and the first time he'd looked up, he'd scored a goal after he'd won the faceoff. When he promised Kate a good ticket, he'd really meant good. If he would've gotten her a regular seat, she probably would've spent the entire game signing autographs, and he knew what it was like to have people constantly around him, and figured for her, it would be multiplied by her larger fame. A box would have been okay, but he figured that if he was going to be seeing her, he might as well go ahead and throw her to the sharks. He'd spoken to Megan, who swore she'd take care of Kate for him, and promised to get the other ladies to act appropriately around such a celebrity.

By the time second intermission had come around, Coach Boucher had noticed Gabe looking up approximately three of the five times he'd done it. "McCall, what the hell were you doing?" Coach barked as he stood in front of Gabe.  
Gabe was about to tell him off, before he remembered what Kate had said about him. "I happened to look up before my first goal. Thought I could repeat it. Sorry."  
"Well, just because you have a girl up there – and don't tell me you don't, because my wife saw her – doesn't mean you should be paying more attention to her than your game."  
"It won't happen again," Gabe shrugged, not meaning it at all.

"And the rest of you idiots," Coach Boucher continued, moving out into the center of the room, "why don't we all try to contribute something, huh? Let's not leave the fate of the game on Gabe's weak goal, and Aleksei's stellar goaltending? Get back out there and keep this game. We can't afford to blow this one."

Gabe was feeling sufficiently pissed off as the Mustangs took to the ice again, and channeled his energy into kicking ass. He scored another goal and set Owen up for one, before netting himself an empty netter and securing his first hat trick in well over a year. As the hats fell around him on the ice, he stole a glance first at the wives' room where he knew Megan would be going nuts, and hoped that Kate was, too, then he glanced at Coach Boucher, where he swore he saw a faint smile.

Coach took him aside after Gabe had finished the cursory interviews and had changed back into his suit, and pulled him just out of earshot of the others. "I should piss you off more often," Coach smirked. "Good game, McCall. Play like that more often and maybe I'll believe it wasn't just because you're Coach McCall's son that got you that captaincy."

That was about as close to a compliment as he could expect from Coach Boucher. Gabe headed out towards where the ladies waited for their husbands and boyfriends, and couldn't help but laugh as Kate faux-bowed to him, smiling. "Good game, Captain," she smiled, as she came forward and took his arm, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "That seemed rather inspired."  
"Well," he shrugged, smiling at her, "honestly, it's the first time I've seen any girls in a long time, and I didn't want to look like an ass. And Coach treated me like shit."  
Kate laughed. "Oh, okay, so it was the Coach Boucher is an asshole game. Yeah, that tends to work on people. What'd he tell you, that you're a piece of crap or something?"  
"Nah, he called my first goal weak and told me to pay more attention to what I was doing. So, I showed him that I'm worth it."  
"I don't think anybody – him included – thinks that you aren't."  
"Well, thank you," Gabe smiled again, rolling his eyes a little as he pushed past the typical press, including Wanda's old cameraman. "Would you like to get a drink with me and the guys?"  
"I'd love to," she smiled, as she allowed Gabe to lead her once again to his car.


End file.
